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Don't Forget To Request A Quick Status Report On Any Homes Or Properties That Interest You! It can take days, weeks, or longer for changes to appear on web sites. Don't waste your time with less than current information. Request my free Status Report and find out if the homes you are interested in are still on the market, under contract, in escrow, or if the price has been reduced. The Status Report that you'll receive by email will also include other important information that has been left out or that is available to me through my professional resources, such as how long the property has been on the market, when it was last sold, what it sold for, and more. Remember: As a Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach and Hamstead area real estate agent, it's my job to know more about a property than any web site. Make sure you have the most current information! 
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Financing Your Home >ARMs
Here is a tip for those who are shopping for Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs): the "margin" is almost as important as the initial rate. The margin is the percentage point above the average yields for Treasury notes on which future rate adjustments will be calculated.
Let's compare two hypothetical one-year ARMs. The first may have an initial interest rate of 7% with a 2.5 margin, while the second begins at 6 7/8% with a 2.75 margin. Both loans have rate caps of 2%. Suppose that at the end of the first year of the loan, the average of the one-year Treasury note yield has been 5 1/2%. For each loan, the lenders will add the margin to that 5 1/2% average yield. Thus the interest rate for first loan would increase from 7% to 8%, and the second would go from 6 7/8% to 8 1/4%. While the first ARM had a slightly higher initial rate, it will have lower rates in subsequent years, unless the Treasury note rates increase enough to activate the annual caps on the amount of the increase. There is a wide variance among margins in ARMs offered by competing lenders, and this should be a factor when you decide on your loan.
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| Q |
Which house over 100 years old still holds the title as the largest house in the U.S.?
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| A |
The 250-room Biltmore House in Asheville, NC, built 1890-1895 at a cost of $4.4 million, is the largest house in the US. |
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